What missed calls cost a small business

Why missed calls hurt more than they look

When someone rings a plumber, a clinic or a cafe, they usually want an answer now. If nobody picks up, it’s easier to try the next number on the list than to leave a message and wait. You never see that call as a lost job, because it never shows up anywhere except as a missed call.

Work out what a missed call costs you

You don’t need industry statistics, just three numbers from your own business:

• How many calls you miss in a normal week (your phone’s call log shows this).
• Roughly how many of those would have become a job or booking if you’d answered.
• What a typical job or booking is worth to you.

Multiply them together. If you miss 10 calls a week, three would have booked, and a typical job is worth NZ$400, that’s NZ$1,200 a week you never see. Your numbers will be different, so use your own.

Four ways to answer more calls

• Hours that match your customers. Many calls come early morning, at lunch and after work. Look at when you miss them.
• A call back within the hour. If you can’t answer, a fast call back saves a lot of them. Set a reminder for every missed call.
• An answering service. A person takes a message, usually charged per call or per minute.
• An AI receptionist. It answers every call, answers from your facts, books times and sends you the details. See AI receptionists in New Zealand.

What Ora does with a missed call

Ora picks up, says it’s NOVA’s AI assistant, answers from the facts you’ve approved and takes the caller’s details. You get a transcript, a summary, and the caller as a lead with a follow-up task, so nothing depends on a voicemail being left.